Wait, wait, it's a toilet

I've discovered the joy of free "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" podcasts from iTunes. Now, even though my local NPR station doesn't broadcast WWDTM, I can listen to it any time I want to. Which is exactly what I did on my way home from the family Thanksgiving.

I listened to a broadcast from earlier this month, prior to the local university's homecoming game. In one of the show's games, Peter Sagal asked one of the panelists about a news bit from my own college town. I was very excited and sat up a little taller in the car. He referred to the drought and asked the panelist what the university was doing to curb excessive flushing at the football stadium.

I sank back down. I figured he must be making it up, since I've been following the local plumbing coverage so closely. But, no, it's true. This story passed right under my well-trained nose. The university considered posting official flushers in the stadium bathrooms to determine when and if a toilet needed to be flushed. Peter didn't say anything about specific training for this job, though I'm sure there must have been some training. After all, I had to pass a test on handling hazardous materials for my adjunct teaching job in the history department of a local college. Maybe the toilet monitors had to pass a history exam.

All of the WWDTM panelists were aghast and disgusted - which are normal responses. I, on the other hand, thought, "It's finally come to this. We finally make it on Wait, Wait and they're talking about our toilets."